4/30/07 - Duke has been adopted

4/22/07 - Duke is pending adoption

4/18/07 - Here comes the latest on Duke.  He gave us another scare last Friday. The oil man left my gate open when he made the delivery.  So natch good ole runner that he is, he took off.  It took a while to find him after he crossed the main road he cross lotted it for a ways about a mile. He came happily when called to get in the vehicle and come home.  I called the oil company today to let them know that better not happen again.   Duke had his well check up today at the vet and he is now 58 lbs.  He has fleas according to the vet. Luckily the frontline came in today for him.  Duke did very well with my grandsons ranging from 2 two 7.  He actually slept with the two year olds. Jonathan had his arm around him. The boys wanted to take him home with them.  Duke is very well behaved when people don't let him out of the yard.  I do crate him when I am not here otherwise he finds food , somehow, someway. He doesn't counter surf or beg when someone is home. I think its more of a not happy to be home alone thing. He's fine in the crate.  He is full of little kisses and would love to cuddle all the time. That's it for now. I know if I was retired I would adopt him in a flash. 

4/1/07 - For all of those waiting for an update on Duke here it is.  Its been an eventful couple of days.  On Thursday when my new dryer was being brought in Duke squeezed past and ran like the dickens. It took quite some time for them to catch him.  This weekend my granddaughter was here and Duke was a gem with her.  He followed her around , sat next to her, rolled over for her to pet his tummy. He has definitely been around children. He knows to lay right under the table with his head just right to catch any and all food that drops.  Yesterday when my granddaughter was coming in from outside with her father she didn't realize how fast Duke was as she is only 4 and he flew out the door past her to the garage and pushed the door open and was gone like a shot. By the time I got my car to the corner of a very busy road one of the neighbors caught him.  He really should be renamed Runner.  Since then I have been taking him outside in the back yard and running him. I take Tony and they have begun to play a bit here and there.  They chase each other and I let Duke run until I think he has had enough . The first few times it was tough getting him back in. What I have been doing is finally getting him to come to me and just pet him and tell him good boy and let him go run some more. He seems to now know he can come in now and he will get to go back out again later. Now that my granddaughter has gone I will start walking him every night to see if that helps. He sure did scare the life out of me when he took off on the main road and the neighbor got him when he was inches away from getting hit. I tell everyone if they are going in or out to make sure where Duke is and if they are going to bring things in and out to put him behind a gate.  Other than his running he has been pretty good.   He does bark when he sees movement in the back yard like squirrels. I hope they can run faster than Duke. They know they can outrun Tony but boy they better not be slow with Duke around. Duke has a bit of an underbite so when he sits and is relaxed and looking up at you he kinda looks like a smile with a tooth sticking out. He also loves to cuddle. That's is for now.

3/24/07 - Duke is doing wonderfully. He eats well.  He and Tony have had no problems to date. Sometimes they lay together.  Duke spends very little time in the crate.  He has free roaming in the house. Duke found it was great fun to play tag in the yard today. His leash slipped out of my hand and he went running through the backyard from one corner to the next. I called him and he would head straight for me and at the last minute he would turn. He thought his was great fun. So I played a bit and then I just stepped on the leash and he stopped no problem.  He rolled right over like he was in trouble. I fear he may have some abuse in his past. If you raise you voice he cowers a bit. Today he met my son and he peed on the floor. That was a first for him here.  He has done very well with going out. I think he was just afraid at first.  As soon as the snow goes out in the back yard I will try to get him outside to play with Tony and see how that goes. Next weekend I will find out how he is with children as he will meet my 4 year old granddaughter.  I have found you can touch him anywhere, put pills in the back of his throat and he just sits there. He is calm when its quiet, he will play when you want to play and stop when you don't. He will curl up with you, on you and if not allowed he will stay on the floor next to you. He has a lot of love to give and I just can't believe he was a stray and wasn't claimed.  He has been very well taken care of for the most part.  I will update again in a day or two and as he becomes even more comfortable we will see if there are any bad habits that haven't shown up yet. He is a keeper.

3/21/07 - I  picked up Duke in Cooperstown. He did wonderfully in the car.  He showed no signs of being afraid of men.  When I got him home I took him out in the back yard to check it out and let him walk around the kitchen and living room for a while. I did put him in the crate for a little while. He sat but he did whine a little bit.  I had Tony on the other side of the gate. They showed some interest in each other. When Duke found he couldn't get closer to Tony he went and laid down. His tail was wagging the entire time.  If tonight is any indication on how he is going to be then it would be super. He is calm, happy, full of kisses but appears to not want to be alone in any room. At the moment he is resting on the carpet next to my chair while Tony is snoring away on the futon.  So far he has let me know he was hungry, did not beg at the table and he was fed after dinner tonight and ate very well and then wanted to go out.  He is not going to be here long. You can't help but fall in love with this boy.  Who knows he may not leave here :-). He should be named prince charming.